Verbena plant named ‘Esca Red’

ABSTRACT

A verbena cultivar particularly distinguished by red colored flowers, vigorous growth and trailing habit.

GENUS AND SPECIES

Verbena hybrida.

VARIETY DENOMINATION

‘Esca Red’.

BACKGROUND OF THE NEW PLANT

The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of verbena,botanically known as Verbena hybrida, and hereinafter referred to by thecultivar name ‘Lan Esca Red’. The new cultivar is asexually reproducedfrom vegetative cuttings and tissue culture resulting from the cross ofthe seed/pod parent 98-520-1, an unnamed and unpatented deep pinkproprietary line and the pollen parent ‘Temari Red’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No.10,311), a commercial line.

‘Esca Red’ is a product of a planned breeding program intended to createnew verbena cultivars with red colored flowers, dark green foliage,vigorous growth and trailing habit.

The new cultivar was created in 1999 in Gilroy, Calif. and has beenasexually reproduced repeatedly by vegetative cuttings and tissueculture in Gilroy, Calif. over a two year period. It has also beentrialed at Gilroy, Calif.; Alberta, Canada, Litchfield, Mich. andAndijk, The Netherlands. The present invention has been found to retainits distinctive characteristics through successive propagations; andthis novelty is firmly fixed.

DESCRIPTION OF PHOTOGRAPH

This new verbena plant is illustrated by the accompanying photographwhich shows blooms, buds, and foliage of the plant in full color, thecolors shown being as true as can be reasonably obtained by conventionalphotographic procedures.

The drawing shows overall plant habit and the mature inflorescence.

DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW CULTIVAR

The following detailed descriptions set forth the distinctivecharacteristics of ‘Esca Red’. The data which defines thesecharacteristics were collected from asexual reproductions carried out inAlberta Canada. The plant history was taken on 11 week old plants grownin 4 inch pots, blossomed under natural light in a greenhouse and colorreadings were taken in the greenhouse in Alberta Canada. Colorreferences are primarily to The R.H.S. Colour Chart of The RoyalHorticultural Society of London (R.H.S.).

THE PLANT

Classification:

Botanical.—Verbena hybrida.

Commercial.—Verbena.

Form: Low trailing annual, decumbent.

Growth and branching habit: Vigorous growing, moderate basal branching;low trailing habit.

Height: From soil level to top of blooms: Approximately 8 cm.

Width: Approximately 80 cm.

Time to produce a finished flowering plant: 10 weeks.

Outdoor plant performance: Typical bedding plant culture, full sun inthe garden, hanging baskets or container plants.

Time to initiate roots: Approximately 4 days in the greenhouse.

Time to develop roots: Approximately 7 days in the greenhouse.

Root description: Fibrous, fleshy, white.

THE LEAVES

Length: 3.1-4.6 cm.

Width: 2.4-3.9 cm.

Leaf blade shape: Ovate-lanceolate, irregular lobing near base.

Leaf margin: Irregular, serrately and crenately incised.

Apex aspect: Obtuse or sharp.

Base aspect: Truncate.

Foliage color: Upper surface — Yellow-green RHS 147A; Lower surface isyellow-green RHS 147B.

Texture: Moderately hairy.

Venation: Pinnatifid, pubescent.

Venation color: Upper surface is yellow-green RHS 147B; lower surface isyellow-green RHS 147C.

Petiole length: 7 mm.

Petiole diameter: 2 mm.

Petiole color: Upper surface is yellow-green RHS 147C; lower surface isyellow-green RHS 145C.

THE STEM

Length: 17-36 cm.

Diameter: 2.0-3.0 mm.

Internode length: 3.4-5.7 cm.

Color: Upper surface is yellow-green RHS 144A; lower surface isyellow-green RHS 144A-B.

Texture: Pubescent.

Stem anthocyanin: Weak to medium anthocyanin on stem distributed inirregular blotches.

THE BUD

Shape: Linear.

Diameter: 1-3 mm.

Length: 12-13 mm.

Color at tight bud: Red RHS 53A.

THE FLOWER

Blooming habit: Continuous throughout the growing season.

Inflorescence type: Spike.

Spikes per plant: 15-22.

Spike diameter: Approximately 5.5 cm.

Spike depth: Approximately 4.0 cm.

Peduncle length: 4.0-7.6 cm.

Peduncle diameter: 2 mm.

Peduncle color: Yellow-green RHS 146B.

Peduncle texture: Moderately pubescent.

Flower color: Upper petal surface is red RHS 45B; Lower petal surface isred RHS 46C; throat hairs red-purple RHS N66A.

Floret form: Salverform; sessile on spikes.

Floret (limb) diameter: Approximately 19 mm.

Corolla tube length: Approximately 18 mm.

Number florets per spike: 25-40 (closed to fully open florets).

Number of petals: Gamopetalous, five lobed.

Petal size:

Length of one lobe.—8 mm.

Width of one lobe.—8 mm.

Petal lobe shape: Obcordate.

Petal apex shape: Emarginate.

Petal base shape: Fused.

Petal margin: Entire.

Petal texture: Smooth with fine pubescence.

Sepals: Five sepals whose margins are fused to each other along theirlength with a transparent membrane of less than 1 mm in width with onesmaller sepal (7 mm) attached to the base of the calyx.

Calyx length: Approximately 12 mm.

Calyx width: Approximately 5 mm.

Calyx shape: Linear.

Calyx apex: Acute.

Calyx color: Yellow-green RHS 146B.

Lastingness of individual blooms: One week.

Fragrance: None.

THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS

Stamens: Anthers and filaments fused to upper half of corolla tube; fouranthers with two pollen sacs per anther.

Pollen amount and color: Moderate, yellow RHS 4C.

Pistil: One style approximately 15 mm; transparent to yellow RHS 1D.throughout length with yellow-green RHS 144C near tip, slightly curvedat the tip with one stigma yellow-green RHS 144A.

Fruit seed set: Does not freely set seed but can produce 4 narrownutlets, approximately 4 mm long; colored grey-brown RHS 199D andenclosed in the dried calyx.

DISEASE AND INSECT RESISTANCE

Tolerant to mildew.

COMPARISON WITH PARENTAL CULTIVARS

When the instant plant is compared to male parent ‘Temari Bright Red’(U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,311) the ‘Esca Red’ leaves are shorter andnarrower than that of ‘Temari Bright Red’. The flower diameter of ‘EscaRed’ smaller than ‘Temari Bright Red’. The flower color on the upperside of ‘Temari Bright Red’ is a little brighter than ‘Esca Red’.Additionally, ‘Esca Red’ has no petal markings like ‘Temari Bright Red’does.

When ‘Esca Red’ is compared to female parent 98-520-1, ‘Esca Red’ has ared flower and 98-520-1 has a deep pink flower. ‘Esca Red’ is a largermore vigorous plant than 98-520-1 and ‘Esca Red’ is earlier to flowerthan 98-520-1.

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of verbena as shown anddescribed herein.